CONTAINER capacity at NCSP Group's Baltic Stevedoring Company Terminal is expected to reach 260,000 TEU by the end of the year, says NCSP Group CEO Yuri Matvienko.

Baltic Stevedore operates a container terminal at the port of Baltiysk on the Baltic Sea on the coast of Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland. 

Baltic Stevedoring Company (BSC) will complete another phase of the construction of container terminal that will bring capacity up to 400,000 TEU plus the building of a warehouse, reports St Petersburg SeaNews. 

Expansion of storage area to 5.6 hectares has enabled the port operator to enhance storage capacity and logistics on the port's hinterland.

"Since October 2013 BSC has leased an additional 254-metre, 8,000-square metre dock from Rosmorport. The configuration of the pier makes it possible to handle cargo of up to 150 tonnes using tandem cranes," said a company statement.

The two piers at BSC are equipped with three LIEBHERR LHM-400 mobile cranes with a lift capacity of 104 tonnes. The ability of the cranes to move around the port freely makes it possible to handle two ships simultaneously.

The warehouse area is equipped with six RTGs for container handling. Baltic Stevedore Company's current warehouse capacity can store up to 5,500 TEU stacked five or six high.

As part of the investment contract signed with Rosmorport, BSC plans to invest RUB1.5 billion into increasing capacity.

Plans include construction of 7.8 hectares of warehouse area and truck parking areas, construction of port terminal buildings and facilities, a customs checkpoint; repairs and upgrades to pier No 2, to make ready for quayside cranes; construction of a new ferry berth at the northern end to handle ro-ro ships; dredging by piers 2 and 3 as well as in the turning basin to increase depth to 10.5 metres as well as the acquisition of new container handling equipment.

London and Moscow-listed NCSP Group is the largest port operator in Russia and the third-largest in Europe, in terms of cargo volume. Consolidated revenue in 2012 totalled US$1.03 billion and EBITDA was US$591.5 million. NCSP Group consolidates the following companies: PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, LLC Primorsk Trade Port, PJSC Novorossiysk Grain Terminal, OJSC Novorossiysk Ship Repair Yard, OJSC NCSP Fleet, OJSC NLE, OJSC IPP, CJSC Baltic Stevedore Company and CJSC SFP.